Tag: Viktor Lakhin

Chase Hunter erupts in massive first half as Clemson basketball routs Syracuse

Fun night at Littlejohn as Clemson keeps rolling thanks to Chase Hunter, who went off in the first half.

Much as he’s done throughout his collegiate career, Chase Hunter set the tone for the Clemson Tigers Wednesday night.

Hunter gave Clemson its first lead of the night with a dunk almost eight minutes in and had 18 points in the first half of an 86-72 Tigers blowout of Syracuse at Littlejohn Coliseum. The sixth-year senior from Atlanta finished the night with 23 points — his sixth 20-point game of the season.

Clemson (16-4 overall, 8-1 ACC) won its fourth straight game thanks to Hunter, who was 7-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from downtown in the game’s first 20 minutes. Two of his four first-half treys came as part of a 10-0 Clemson run to close the half.

The Tigers, who entered the day as a projected No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN, shot almost 60 percent from the field in the first half and led 48-29 at intermission.

In the second half, Clemson would lead by as many as 24 after Hunter sank a pair of foul shots to put his team up 74-50 with less than nine minutes to play in the game.

Viktor Lakhin had 16 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, and Jaeden Zackery continued his recent hot streak by finishing in double figures with 14 points. Ian Schieffelin also finished in double figures with 11 points, including a pair of dunks.

J.J. Starling led Syracuse (9-10, 3-5) with a game-high 25 points.

Clemson basketball schedule 2025

The Tigers will travel to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech Saturday at Cassell Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ACC Network.

Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions. 

Instant recap: Clemson basketball falls in overtime to Memphis

Clemson falls to Memphis in overtime to snap a six-game winning streak.

The Clemson Tigers‘ fell 87-82 to the Memphis Tigers Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum, snapping a six-game winning streak.

Early on, the Tigers’ “basketball for brunch” felt more like a hangover. Clemson (9-2 overall) fell behind 10-0 to start the game and went almost the first six minutes without a basket.

By contrast, Memphis got a blistering start from Colby Rogers, who opened 5-for-5 and gave his Tigers a 27-20 lead with 5:30 to play in the first half after scoring eight straight points.

Clemson took its first lead with 1:50 to go in the half on a 3-pointer from Ian Schieffelin for a 29-28 lead. A big turning point occurred just before halftime. With 6.3 seconds left on the clock, Jaeden Zackery tried to inbound the ball but his pass from the baseline was picked off by Tyrese Hunter, who raced up the floor and drained an open 3-pointer for a 33-32 Memphis lead at intermission.

Memphis (8-2) started the second half on a 7-0 run capped by another trey from Hunter that forced Brad Brownell to take a full timeout as Memphis went ahead 40-32.

Penny Hardaway’s Tigers led 59-51 near the under-8 timeout after a 3-pointer from Nicholas Jourdain as part of a 14-8 run.

Clemson made its own run afterwards, an 11-0 spurt that included a pair of Chase Hunter jump shots, a 3-pointer from Dillon Hunter, and two layups from Viktor Lakhin.

Clemson took its biggest lead when Schieffelin made a layup with 2:22 to play to go up 69-63. But Memphis refused to go away and after Jourdain made a steal, Tyrese Hunter found Dain Dainja for a game-tying layup with 20 seconds left in the second half.

That sent the game into overtime at 72-72 after Chase Hunter missed a 3-pointer at the end of regulation.

Two big 3-pointers by Tyrese Hunter gave Memphis an 83-81 lead with 58 seconds to play in overtime. Dainja sank two foul shots with 15.3 seconds left to put Memphis up 85-82.

Chase Hunter missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with 10 seconds left to send Memphis to the free-throw line to ice the game.

Memphis’ Hunter had 23 points, followed by Rogers with 22. Lakhin led Clemson with 23 points, and Schieffelin and Chase Hunter both added 17 points apiece.

Memphis shot 52 percent from the field (31-of-60) while Clemson made 45 percent of its shots (30-of-67). Brownell’s Tigers were 10-of-31 (32 percent) from behind the arc; Memphis was 12-of-25 (48 percent).

Clemson basketball schedule 2024-25

Clemson will head to Columbia for their annual matchup with South Carolina (6-3) on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

Clemson avoids letdown after Kentucky win, beats Miami to open ACC play

Clemson takes down Miami to open conference play.

They didn’t have their best game, but the Clemson Tigers avoided a letdown after their thrilling 70-66 win over Kentucky basketball earlier in the week in the SEC-ACC Challenge.

Led by another double-double from senior Ian Schieffelin (13 points, 12 rebounds) and a game-high 18 points from senior Chase Hunter, Clemson overcame a slow start to defeat the Miami Hurricanes, 65-55, Saturday afternoon in the ACC opener for both teams at Watsco Center in Coral Gables.

The Tigers improved to 9-1 overall and have a good chance of being ranked in the new Top 25 polls Monday.

Schieffelin had his fifth double-double of the season and second this week. Against Miami, he made Clemson’s first points of the afternoon with a 3-point basket after the Tigers and Hurricanes (3-6) both began the game scoreless for the first three and a half minutes.

A few minutes later, Schieffelin sank another basket from behind the arc to stake the Tigers to a 9-1 lead and force Miami (3-6) to use a timeout. Clemson would go up by 11 before the Hurricanes used a 19-6 run to take their first lead of the game.

Schieffelin made his third 3-pointer of the half with a little over three minutes to play until halftime, and Hunter made a steal and a layup to boost Clemson to a 25-24 lead at intermission.

Behind Hunter and Cincinnati Bearcats transfer Viktor Lahkin, the Tigers eventually pulled away in the second half. Lahkin hit two big 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor with around seven minutes to play to put Clemson ahead for good at 47-43.

The Tigers added a clutch 3-point basket from Dillon Hunter and a tip-in from Schieffelin to go up by five, 56-51, with 2:38 to play. Clemson put the game out of reach at the foul line, making eight of its last nine shots from the charity stripe.

Lahkin finished with 12 points, all of them coming in the second half. Twelve of Hunter’s 18 points came in the second half. He shot 7-of-19 from the field and was just 1-of-7 from downtown.

The Tigers shot 40 percent and got off 27 threes, connecting on nine. Clemson’s first 12 points in the game came from behind the arc.

Jalil Bethea, a consensus five-star prospect out of Pennsylvania who chose Miami over Alabama, Villanova, Syracuse and others, led the Canes with 12 points.

Clemson schedule 2024

Clemson will take on Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers (7-1) a week from Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Photo Gallery: Clemson basketball dominates Charleston Southern in season opener

View the best images from the Tigers’ 91-64 win over Charleston Southern at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Clemson Tigers’ men’s basketball team won its 2024-25 season opener, 91-64, over Charleston Southern Monday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers (1-0), fresh off a deep and unexpected NCAA Tournament run to the Elite Eight, got 17 points apiece from sixth-year Chase Hunter and Illinois State transfer Myles Foster in the victory.

Cincinnati Bearcats transfer forward Viktor Lahkin added 12 points to give the Tigers three players in double figures. Boston College transfer Jaeden Zackery started and played 26 minutes, scoring six points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Senior forward Ian Schieffelin played a team-high 30 minutes and had eight points to go with nine rebounds and three assists.

Coach Brad Brownell began his 15th season at the helm in Clemson. With the recent retirement of longtime Virginia coach Tony Bennett, Brownell is now the second longest tenured coach in the ACC behind Leonard Hamilton of Florida State.

Clemson returns to Littlejohn Coliseum Friday night when the Tigers host the St. Francis (PA) Red Flash. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ACC Network Extra/ESPN+.

Here are some of the best photos from the Tigers’ opening night victory over the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.

Behind new and old faces, Clemson basketball cruises in 2024-25 season opener

Chase Hunter and transfer Myles Foster lead the way for Clemson in the Tigers’ 2024-25 season opener.

Sixth-year senior Chase Hunter and Illinois State transfer Myles Foster both scored 17 points, and the Clemson Tigers men’s basketball team defeated Charleston Southern, 91-64, to win its 2024-25 season opener Monday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tigers (1-0) led 48-24 at halftime and finished the night shooting 49.2 percent from the field. Hunter, who returned to Clemson after forgoing the NBA draft, played 23 minutes and shot 6-of-9 from the field (3-for-3 from 3-point range) in the Tigers’ opening night dub.

Foster, a fifth-year senior who averaged 12.5 points per game in each of the past two seasons, scored 17 points over 17 minutes in his Clemson debut.

Some other new faces contributed to the Tigers’ success, as well.

Cincinnati Bearcats transfer Viktor Lahkin started and played 16 minutes, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Former Boston College guard Jaeden Zackery also started and played 26 minutes. He scored six points (3-5) in his first game in a Clemson uniform.

Senior forward and fan favorite Ian Schieffelin played a team-high 30 minutes and had eight points to go with nine rebounds.

For coach Brad Brownell, it marked the start of his 15th season at the helm in Clemson. He is the second longest-tenured coach in the ACC behind Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton (2002-present). Brownell led the Tigers to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season.

Clemson returns to the court Friday night when the Tigers welcome St. Francis (PA) to Littlejohn Coliseum. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ACC Network Extra or ESPN+.